A pub owner has defended holiday surcharges after an outraged Australian questioned why customers had to pay more money at the till.
Estelle Landy took to social media to express her anger over extra holiday costs after realizing how much more she had to pay for a single meal.
“Can someone please explain why on earth we pay a public holiday surcharge,” said Ms Landy.
‘For example, why do we pay extra for companies to pay staff when they simply cannot be open? I just paid $18 for a quarter chicken and fries. It normally costs $14.”
Social media users were divided; many sided with Ms Landy, while others defended cafes.
‘Because the company has to pay its employees double what they would normally pay? I’m afraid this shows common sense,” one person said.
“As if the company doesn’t benefit from the surcharge,” said another.
‘Yes, okay, you pay a little more in wages, but what about the extra money that is collected from the allowance during the day?’
Dan Dick, owner of three Melbourne cafes, warned business owners would be forced to close shop if they didn’t meet a surcharge
Dan Dick, owner of three cafes in Melbourne, warned business owners would be forced to close shop if they did not pay a surcharge.
“If companies don’t find it financially worthwhile to be open on those days, they will simply close,” he said.
‘So what are you going to do on a day off when nothing is open because it’s not profitable to run?
“I think everyone just needs to understand that it’s a necessary expense to be able to visit your favorite venues on days when they’re essentially making a loss.”
“It is also not up to the staff to determine the pricing model,” Mr Dick added.
“If anyone has any questions about the way we price things, by all means have a conversation with me, the owner who makes the decisions, but the staff in every store that offers these things doesn’t make this decision. ‘
Mr Dick said his staff were entitled to double time and an extra day if they worked on public holidays.
“It’s not feasible for companies to absorb that,” he said Yahoo Finance.
Ruby Rule says holiday allowances don’t do much to cover her staff’s higher wages
Surcharges, typically between 10 and 15 percent, are added to help companies cover the costs of higher wages.
Mr Dick closes two of his three cafes on Christmas Day because it’s just not worth it.
He warned that if Aussies want to ignore the benefits, they will find that nothing is open during their time off.
Ruby Rule, owner of three cafes in Queensland, recently revealed on social media that public holiday allowances are not doing much to cover her staff’s higher wages.
“We brought in $4,705 and of that money $719 was a surcharge,” she said after keeping her cafes open on a holiday.
“Because of the holiday, wages at my three locations came to $3,500.”
On a regular day, the pay would come to $1,800, she added, which was about $1,700 less than on a holiday.
“That extra $700 we got in the holiday allowance doesn’t actually even cover the majority of the extra money we have to pay.
“This is to show that business owners are not adding the surcharge so they can make more money. It’s purely an attempt to offset some of those costs.”